DIY boom boosts Wickes sales

YOUNG people keen to spruce up their rented properties helped drive record sales of DIY products in 2022, the boss of Wickes said.

The home improvement retailer’s sales hit £1.56bn last year, an increase of 1.8pc, as shoppers looked to improve their homes and buy energysaving products.

Chief executive David Wood said that more 18-to-35-yearolds were carrying out renovation projects at a rate ‘we haven’t had in DIY for many years’. Renters who are spending more time working or socialising at home after the Covid pandemic are looking to make their spaces ‘fresher and brighter’, he said.

The cost-of-living crisis has also boosted sales, with a ‘dramatic step up’ in energy efficiency-related items, including insulation, draft excluders and heating controls. But profits slipped, coming to £40.3m in 2022 versus £65.4m in 2021.

Rival DIY giant Kingfisher – owner of B&Q and Screwfix brands – also posted a sharp dip in profit earlier this week due to a pandemic DIY boom losing its momentum.

Wood said demand at Wickes was ‘moderating from the highs of the Covid period’.